


got to find my corner of the sky

by WishingTree



Series: Cabin Shenanigans [5]
Category: Lumberjanes
Genre: Gen, also there's a unicorn, molly may or may not be the chosen one but she's definitely something, rosie's got history
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-16
Updated: 2016-02-16
Packaged: 2018-05-21 00:20:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6031218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WishingTree/pseuds/WishingTree
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Molly had never been one to belong easily, and she never expected to find a home with the Lumberjanes, or in the forest around it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	got to find my corner of the sky

**Author's Note:**

> Title from "Corner of the Sky" by the Jackson 5;

A crestfallen April slouched through the door and flopped face-first onto Mal’s bunk next to Molly. Molly placed a calming hand on her friend’s head, kicking her feet idly as she leaned back and waited for her to say something.

“Dartmoor got attacked by some plants today,” April said forlornly, rolling onto her back.

“Are they okay? Do they need help?” Molly asked instantly, sitting up straight.

“Oh! No, sorry, I phrased that wrong. They were more… surprised by some plants. Big plants. That change colors.” April propped herself up on her elbows. “Everyone’s totally fine, plants included. Rosie’s taking care of it all now.”

“Oh.” Molly settled back on the bed, relieved. “Well. Plants is a new one.”

“It’s pretty cool,” April said, propping herself up on her elbows, “I saw them coming out of the forest. Dartmoor’s like, completely covered in the plant dye, or whatever it is. They keep randomly changing colors.”

Molly hummed in amusement, “A cabin that isn’t us finally ran into something strange.”

“I know, it’s boring! Where’s all our adventure? Everything’s so quiet, it’s like we’re all just sitting around _waiting_ for something, but we don’t know what it is.” April sat up, sighing, and Molly patted her shoulder comfortingly.

“Try to enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts? I’m sure something will show up sooner or later.” April only shrugged, and Molly furrowed her brow at how dispirited she looked.

“Um, what happened to the plants?” Molly tried to distract her, steer her back to the enthusiasm that came with potential adventuring and solving mysteries.

“Rosie’s taking Dartmoor and they’re going to transplant them to another area of the forest. Apparently they grew in the wrong part or something, I didn’t get it all.” April settled comfortably against Molly’s side, quiet for a moment.

“Do you think it’s true?” April asked with uncharacteristic hesitance. “That we’re never going to figure out how this forest works.”

“Well, now we know there’s rainbow plants that somehow mistakenly wound up near our camp, and that they doused some campers in something that means they’re going to be changing colors until they can get it all off,” Molly offered. “I think we’re on the right track. One step at a time, and eventually we’ll find enough pieces to understand all the crazy that comes with this place.”

“You’re right,” April brightened, “We just need to keep working at it. Lumberjanes never give up!” She jumped to her feet excitedly. “Come on, let’s go get the others. This forest ain’t gonna solve itself!”

Molly grinned, pushing herself up and following April out the cabin door. 

 

“There’s some mythical being living in the forest that is the source of all magic,” Molly said as she chewed reflectively, and Jo hummed.

“Something more ancient and powerful than the Grootslang?”

Molly looked up, smiling when Mal slid onto the bench next to her at the Roanoke table in the mess hall. She continued theorizing about the forest with Jo, watching her push the food around her plate in a mini model resembling the campground.

“What do you think about self-contained time bubble in an alternate dimension?” Jo suggested as she tugged on a lock of her hair, carefully forming a campfire pit out of mashed potatoes before looking up at them.

She suddenly planted her hands on the table and stopped talking, leaning out to the side and squinting at the front of the mess hall. “Did I just see a bunch of multi-colored campers pass by?” Molly and Mal both turned to the open doorway as well, not seeing anything unusual.

“Probably,” Molly shrugged and turned back. She pushed her brownie onto Mal’s plate when she noticed her eying it. “April told me Dartmoor had a run-in with these plants that doused them in some kind of color-changing dye, but I haven’t seen them yet. They might be back from helping Rosie transplant them?”

“Oooh,” Jo’s eyes lit up excitedly and Molly waved a hand at her, laughing.

“Go have some science fun.”

Jo shot them both a mischievous grin as she hurriedly shoved the last two bites of food into her mouth and stowed her tray, waving at them as she left.

“I’m leaning more towards the forest being on a giant ley line or something,” Mal said after Jo had vanished out the door.

“What about a Hellmouth type of thing?”

Mal made a thoughtful sound as she bit into the brownie, waving at Ripley and April as they approached from the other side of the room. 

 

“Psst, Molly!”

Slowly blinking her eyes open, Molly squinted into the darkness.

“Molly!” The hushed whisper came again, accompanied by a creaking bedframe.

Scrubbing at her eyes, Molly turned her head to come face to face with Ripley, hanging off the edge of her bunk. “Wha – what is it, Rip?”

“Can I borrow Bubbles?”

“Shouldn’t you be asleep?” Molly yawned, sleepily watching the way Ripley wriggled excitedly with her legs kicking in the air behind her. Ripley only lifted her shoulders and continued to look at her expectantly, completely unconcerned.

“I um – why do you need Bubbles?” Molly pulled her other arm out from her blanket, turning onto her side and cushioning her head.

“I need to finish the battle station but I can’t get high enough.”

“Battle… station?”

Ripley beamed, “In case we’re invaded!”

“You need Bubbles… to help you – prepare for an invasion… right now, in the middle of the night?” Molly recapped hesitantly, rubbing her eyes again as she tried to keep up.

Ripley nodded vigorously, slipping a little bit before she adjusted her elbows propped up on Molly’s mattress.

“Who do you think is going to try and invade our cabin?”

Ripley looked stumped for a moment, forehead creasing as she thought hard, but then only tilted her head, shrugging.

“Okay then,” Molly stretched her neck back, “Sure. I mean, I guess. You gotta see if Bubbles wants to help.”

Ripley leaned forwards and reached out her hand, gently patting Bubbles on the head. The raccoon unfurled and looked at her, waking much more easily than Molly had and stepping casually over to the younger girl.

“Alrighty,” Molly said, her eyes drooping closed as she settled more comfortably into her pillow. “Try not to get too carried away, yeah?” Ripley bobbed her head exuberantly, accepting the raccoon into her arms and moved over to the ladder, sliding down and landing on the floor with a light thud.

Molly drowsed in and out of sleep, mostly unaware if she was awake or dreaming. She was distantly conscious of sheets being waved around, and Bubbles apparently pinning them to the wall high above Ripley’s bunk. There was clattering, and Ripley filling her new makeshift sheet pouches with more things than Molly was aware she was keeping in the cabin.

The next time Molly opened her eyes, she was greeted with the sight of some sort of makeshift hammock across the room, tacked to the ceiling and holding all sorts of random objects. In addition to a bunch of stuff she didn't recognize, Molly spotted a road flare, a handful of April's spare glitter pens, what looked like a bunch of rocks, a star chart, and some of Jo's boot laces.

When Ripley grinned up at her eagerly, Molly didn’t even question the state of her bunk, just pulling her into a hug. Ripley went to get the other girls up to show them what she’d accomplished, and Molly went to poke Jen awake and ask her to check the structural integrity of Ripley’s new creation. 

 

The ground shook minutely, reverberating up her spine and tingling at the base of her neck. Molly blinked, looking around to see if she had imagined it. The trees were still green, swaying gently in the wind, no animals came swarming out of the woods, nothing unusual happened. None of the scattered campers enjoying their free day had any reaction at all, and Molly furrowed her brow.

Puzzled, Molly’s gaze returned to the tree line. Everything looked normal, but something was nagging at her. She kept glancing around, wondering if she had imagined the feeling, and made a split-second decision.

She got up, leaving Bubbles dozing next to Jen and quietly telling her friends she was going to be right back, not wanting to interrupt their game of charades with Zodiac and Roswell. Mal made to follow her, but Molly waved her down with a smile.

“It’s alright, I’m just going to check something out. I’ll be quick.”

“Are you sure?” Mal whispered back, looking between her and the game.

Molly smiled and squeezed her arm. “Yeah, don’t worry. Besides, your turn’s coming up next. I’m just going to the tree line.”

Moving away from the group, Molly put her hands on her hips, squinting into the forest to try and spot anything unusual between the trees. There was still nothing of note, and Molly was starting to feel weird about looking so hard for nothing. The forest seemed exactly as it was every other day at camp.

But she couldn’t shake the thought that there was something she needed to see, something that needed to be done in these woods. Unable to help herself, she walked forwards, only hesitating for a moment before crossing the tree line.

Molly moved carefully through the trees, wary of losing her way. Something kept drawing her forward, but she was at a loss to see anything behind it yet.

Suddenly the rustling of the trees and the sound of twigs cracking alerted her to something approaching, something much bigger than she was. Nervous, she started backing up the way she came, wishing she had her friends with her. She shouldn’t have come out here alone.

She stumbled and pressed her back against a tree trunk just as the source of the noise came crashing through the underbrush. Molly cowered, fully expecting to be faced with some horrifyingly giant creature about to eat her.

What she was actually faced with made her blink. And blink. And then blink again.

There was a unicorn standing in front of her.

Easily 8 feet tall, it was bright purple and seemed to be muttering to itself in something that resembled an Icelandic accent as it wandered around in circles. Molly was absolutely not equipped to handle any mythical beings, especially on her own.

However, the more Molly watched it, the more confused she got. The unicorn stepped from one end of the clearing to the other, peering through the trees before shaking it’s head and turning back.

As it became apparent to her that she probably wasn’t under any immediate threat of death, Molly let herself breathe normally and leaned forward a bit, still hidden by the leaves.

The giant purple magical unicorn, she realized, was… lost.

Lost, Molly knew how to handle. Ignoring the tiny voice in her head that screamed for her to stay hidden until the unknown was gone, she slowly stepped out from the cover of the trees.

“Hello?” she called out hesitantly.

The unicorn turned its head. “Oh hello there! A mortal, how exciting.” The deep voice resonated loudly in Molly’s chest.

“Umm… yup?” Molly looked up, its head towering over her, and momentarily forgot what she had come out for. “I – I was wondering if there was something I could help you with?”

The unicorn delicately arranged its hooves underneath it and folded its legs, lying down to bring its head closer to Molly's height.

“Of course,” it peered at her with interest, “You know, most mortals are afraid of us. They don’t usually come up and offer assistance.”

“Um,” Molly nervously bit her lip. “You just looked a little… lost?”

The unicorn looked at her consideringly. “I was supposed to be meeting my friends at the whispering rock, but I believe I’ve been turned around. It’s been such a long time since I was in these woods last, I’ve forgotten my way.”

Molly brightened. “Oh I know how to get there! I can show you the way, it’s not too far.”

The unicorn held still as Molly came closer, “You would help me, little one?”

“Of course I’ll help you, um – my… Do you use a name, or a title? I apologize, but what pronouns do you use?” Molly twisted the hem of her shirt, slightly nervous as she looked up.

The unicorn bent down and bowed its head, tapping its horn gently on Molly’s shoulder. “Fear not, brave one. You have nothing to apologize for. I appreciate your candor, _and_ your assistance.”

Molly blushed. “O-oh, it’s – it’s nothing. Happy to help. My name’s Molly, by the way. She/her pronouns.”

“Lovely to meet you Molly. I am Lim, of the Northern Aellindus Wood. She/her pronouns will suffice. You say you know the way to the whispering rock?”

“Yeah, it’s right through that way, on the other side of camp.” Molly hooked her thumb over her shoulder to point behind her.

“Camp?”

“Yeah, the Lumberjane scout camp.”

“Oh, you’re a Lumberjane!” the unicorn sounded absolutely delighted. “You bunch are still around, how wonderful!” She picked herself up and started walking straight towards the camp.

“Wait!” Molly scrambled to keep up with her, but she kept marching on. Molly had meant to lead her to the path going around the border of the camp, but apparently Lim had other plans.

 

Back with the other members of Roanoke cabin, their game of charades had dissolved and the other campers with them had all dispersed on to the next activity. They had been sitting there for a while, and Mal scanned the tree line absently for any sign of Molly, concern growing.

“Guys, she’s been gone for a while,” Mal said, gnawing on her bottom lip.

“She knows how to take care of herself,” Jo reassured her with a hand on her arm, but she looked worried as well. Ripley was standing behind April with her hands on her shoulders, pushing herself up on her toes to get a better view.

 

Lim rotated her ears towards a group of girls sitting in a loose circle on the grass. “Molly, those mortals speak your name.” She turned back to see Molly breathing heavily as she pushed her way through the branches, winded from running after the much faster unicorn.

“Yeah, those… those are my… friends. Whew. Lim, you’ve got some very long legs.”

“Friends?” Lim perked up, “Excellent.” She changed directions towards the Roanokes.

 

“Uhh, Jen?” Mal gestured weakly behind her, “I know you’re in the middle of your super important monologue about star charts and junk, but could you take a second and turn around to tell me if I’m hallucinating the giant purple unicorn that just walked out of the woods, in which case I will respectfully request to go lie down in the cabin until this stops?”

“What?” Jen stared, trying to parse the sentence, before turning to the forest and freezing. “That’s… that’s a unicorn,” she said faintly. The others all stared with varying levels of shock displayed on their faces, and Molly sped forwards to greet them before anybody freaked out.

“Hi,” she panted, “Everyone, this is Lim. Yes, she’s a unicorn.” Above her, Lim inclined her head at them.

Aside from Molly, everyone remained speechless, the silence only broken when Rosie came marching over.

“Heard there was a visitor in my camp,” she said with amusement, cocking an eyebrow.

“M’Lady,” Lim stopped and bent her neck low in what looked like the equestrian equivalent of a bow.

“Nonsense, stop that,” Rosie said gruffly, waving a hand and turning her head away. “I haven’t been the Lady of the wild things in a very long time, you must know that. Never even took the title officially.”

Lim looked at her intently, “And yet you still took over this camp. You look after the forest, as it is known. Is that not what the Lady is meant to do?”

“That was my grandmother, and her mother before her. I did not accept inheriting that title.”

“Your grandmother knew you would do great things,” Lim said seriously, “She was always proud of you.”

“Yeah, well. She cared about this place, the forest. I know how important it is, and somebody needs to help protect it.”

“That empathy is why you were chosen, no matter how hard you resist the call. You may be doing things differently at this camp now, but the core motivations are the same.”

Rosie’s face was blank, eyes unreadable behind her glasses.

Off to the side, Ripley reached up and tapped Jen on the arm. “Rosie’s friends with a unicorn!” she said with an amazed expression on her face. April’s hands were clasped under her chin, her eyes shining adoringly, and Jo had a hand gripping the back of her shirt in case she decided to charge at them. Mal stared slack-jawed as their camp director conversed with a giant unicorn like it happened every day.

Rosie said something they couldn’t hear, and Lim straightened up, nodding. “Your young scout Molly was guiding me to the whispering rock.”

“Do you know where it is from here? It’s just beyond the camp boundaries.” Rosie pointed in the right direction.

Lim focused on the trees and nodded. “Thank you,” Lim bowed again even as Rosie rolled her eyes at the motion. Next she turned to Molly, “And thank you, fair one.” She inclined her head again, nodding at the Roanokes before turning to the trees.

They stood and watched as Lim disappeared into the woods. The sun was just beginning to set, rays dancing over the tops of the trees and casting the beginnings of long shadows on the ground.

“Molly, could I have a word?” Molly turned to Rosie and nodded, following her a couple paces away, out of earshot of the others.

“Can you tell me how your free day ended with you bringing a unicorn to camp?”

Molly hesitated, not having a clear explanation. “She was lost.”

“But how did you know? And how did you know where to find her?”

Molly shifted uncomfortably. “I – I just did, I guess. I had a feeling.”

“And you followed that feeling straight to the only lost unicorn wandering around the entire forest?”

“Well, I mean, my sense of direction has never been all that bad?”

Rosie was looking at her knowingly, and Molly fidgeted uncertainly, feeling like she had done something wrong. She was momentarily distracted by Bubbles leaping at her, and she held her arms out even as the raccoon started to clamber up.

“Well done, Molly.”

“Huh?” Molly looked up, trying to contain the frantic Bubbles climbing all over her. Rosie was now standing in front of her, axe casually propped up on one shoulder.

“Well done. You did a good thing today.”

Molly blushed, “Oh, uh – thank you, Rosie. I don’t think I did very much though.”

“You protected the forest, and those within it. It’s what a Lumberjane does.” Rosie set a hand on her shoulder, steady and warm. “It’s the very thing that embodies a Lumberjane scout. I’m very proud of you, for whatever that may be worth.” Rosie stepped back with a smile. “These are your woods now, Molly. All the scouts, but you especially.” Molly looked back at her, not fully understanding the weight behind the words.

“Rosie,” she asked carefully, “What are Lumberjanes exactly? You mentioned being protectors of the forest once, but what does that mean?”

Rosie stood tall, observing Molly with the rest of the Roanoke cabin spread loosely around her. “You’ll understand it someday.” She shifted her gaze to the setting sun, "It's not quite time yet." Giving Molly a kind smile, she turned and headed back to the main campground.

Molly scratched her head, staring after her in confusion. When her friends came up to her, looking at her questioningly, she just shook her head and threw her arms up in the air. "I don't even know." 

They all started talking at once, drawing her into the circle, and Molly was comforted by the fact that at least they'd all be in this together, whenever the day came.


End file.
